Getting Ready...
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| Getting Ready... | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Studio | Chess | |||
| Genre | Blues, rock | |||
| Label | Shelter | |||
| Producer | Leon Russell, Don Nix | |||
| Freddie King chronology | ||||
| ||||
Getting Ready... is an album by the American musician Freddie King, released in 1971.[1][2] It was the first of three albums he recorded for Shelter Records.[3] King supported the album with a North American tour.[4]
Production
Recorded at Chess Studios and mixed at Ardent Studios, the album was produced by label head Leon Russell and Don Nix.[5][6] King was backed by Russell on piano, Duck Dunn on bass, Chuck Blackwell on drums, and Don Preston on guitar.[6] King played a Gibson Les Paul.[7] The studio version of "Key to the Highway" was performed in a more casual, groove-oriented style, rather than the rock style of most of King's live versions of the song.[8] "Dust My Broom" is a cover of the Elmore James song.[9]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Los Angeles Times |    [10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
The News-Chronicle noted that King "is only an average vocalist ... slurring some of the lines to the point of indistinction, but what you are able to hear is good."[12] The Reading Evening Post called the album "good solid blues that pushes along rather than rolls along."[13]
In 1989, the Los Angeles Times stated that the songs "provide a respectable showcase of King's feel for both rock and blues."[10] In 1997, Guitar Player said that "Freddie is comfortable and in total command".[6] The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings opined that the Shelter albums reflect "the awkward phase blues was going through in the early '70s."[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Same Old Blues" | |
| 2. | "Dust My Broom" | |
| 3. | "Worried My Life Blues" | |
| 4. | "Five Long Years" | |
| 5. | "Key to the Highway" | |
| 6. | "Going Down" | |
| 7. | "Living on the Highway" | |
| 8. | "Walking by Myself" | |
| 9. | "Tore Down" | |
| 10. | "Palace of the King" |
References
- ^ Komara, Edward, ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Vol. 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 573.
- ^ O'Neal, Jim; van Singel, Amy (2013). The Voice of the Blues: Classic Interviews from Living Blues Magazine. Taylor & Francis. p. 360.
- ^ Fox, Darrin (August 2004). "Freddie King". Guitar Player. Vol. 38, no. 8. p. 186.
- ^ "Bluesman to Perform in Concert". The Bradenton Herald. August 3, 1971. p. 9A.
- ^ Ellis, Bill (July 1, 2000). "Old Folks and Newcomers Give the Past Its Props". The Commercial Appeal. p. F8.
- ^ a b c Forte, Dan (October 1997). "The essential Freddie King collection". Guitar Player. Vol. 31, no. 10. p. 75.
- ^ Thompson, Art (December 1998). "Legends of the Paul". Guitar Player. Vol. 32, no. 12. p. 117.
- ^ Friedland, Ed (April 2015). "The Eight-Bar Blues". Bass Player. Vol. 26, no. 4. p. 52.
- ^ Bevan, Bev (November 24, 2024). "Albums of the Week". Weekend. Sunday Mercury. p. 3.
- ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (September 15, 1989). "3 Shelter Albums Released in Joint Venture". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 20.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 398.
- ^ Bob, Baker (July 2, 1971). "Gimmicks, tricks don't make this King a 'B.B.'". News-Chronicle. p. 9.
- ^ Butterfield, Pete (July 23, 1971). "Pop". Reading Evening Post. p. 10.
- ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 363.